The Seattle Mariners are Cursed

The Seattle Mariners are cursed.  They find ways to lose games, and they find ways to miss the playoffs.  They did something to anger the baseball gods, although I do not know what that would have been.  But I have believed for a long time now that the Mariners are cursed.  They have the worst luck of any team I have seen both in games and season by season.  The Red Sox used to have a curse, the "Curse of the Bambino".  The Cubs used to have a curse, the "Curse of the Billy Goat".  I believe the Mariners were inflicted with a similar curse.

The year would've been 2001.  The baseball gods are not happy with the Seattle Mariners.  They helped assemble us some of the best talent of their generation.  Four sure fire Hall of Famers played on the Mariners in the late 90's.  And we let three of them go.  We were supposed to win a World Series with these players, but couldn't even get there.  Then we let them go.  Randy was traded.  Griffey was traded.  We let Alex test free agency and he signed with the rival Rangers.  Edgar stayed, but was older than all of them and closest to the end of his career.  The baseball gods did not like this.  We then spurned them by signing Bret Boone and Ichiro.  We won 116 games, which I'm sure made the gods angry.  How was this team, without A-Rod, Griffey, and Randy, winning 116 games?  They promptly inflicted us with fatigue and prevented us from reaching the World Series.  Not only that, but they inflicted the Mariners with bad luck in everything they do: Trades, free agency, and in games. 

When you ask a casual baseball fan about the Seattle Mariners, they might say that the Mariners don't make the playoffs much.  It's not for lack of trying.  And many teams have been very close.  Five times since 2002 the Mariners have been the best team in the American League NOT to make it to the playoffs.  That's more times than they've made the playoffs in THEIR ENTIRE HISTORY.  That's right: The Mariners have more often been a few games away from making the playoffs in the past 17 years than they have made the playoffs in all of their existence.  What kind of team has this kind of luck?  A cursed team.

Speaking of playoffs, the Mariners have made the playoffs in just four of their 43 seasons.  When there were four playoff teams, any team had a 27% chance of making the playoffs.  Now that there are five playoff teams with the addition of another wild card, the playoff chances rise to 33%.  But the Mariners have made it for just 9% of their existence.  And most notably and recently, the Mariners have the longest playoff drought in all of North American professional sports at 18 years.  That is like spinning an item, and for 18 consecutive tries never getting it to face North.  Unreal.

It's amazing to me how often Mariner's opponents get a lucky break and how often the Mariners get a bad one.  Watch pretty much any one of their games.  A ball that lands foul for the Mariners is a fair ball for their opponents.  It also seems on replay reviews that calls go against the Mariners for more often than their opponents.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard Mariners play-by-play man Dave Sims say, "Tough break for the Mariners." 

What shall we name this curse?  The easiest answer would be to find a player who left after 2001.  The most notable I see is Jay Buhner.  We could call it the "Curse of the Bone".  It's kind of got an eerie and dark vibe to it.  Granted, Jay Buhner only played 19 games in 2001, but he was still a clubhouse presence and leader on that team.  My other choice would be the "Curse of the Big Three."  The big three being Randy, Griffey, and A-Rod.  They were the big three that left, and aside from 2001 we haven't made the playoffs without them... at all.  Not before them, not after.  But I'll stick with the "Curse of the Bone". 

Jerry Dipoto has decided to have this team go through a rebuild process.  He acquired quite a few prospects and he'll probably acquire even more as the trade deadline draws near.  The expected run at the playoffs will happen in 2022.  All I'm going to say is this: If a lot of these prospects fail (as so many of ours have in recent years), and we fail to make the playoffs during that run, there will be no doubt whatsoever in my mind that this team is full on cursed.  And there shouldn't be any doubt in your mind, either. 

Best Players by Jersey Number in Mariners History

Well, I did one for the Seahawks, so I will do one for the Mariners as well!  For this one, it's not quite as easy for me to see a player's value (I have to click on each of their individual pages this time), so for the most part I'll just be going by what I remember.  I'm doing numbers 1-59 (with one exception), as there haven't been too many players to wear a uniform number of 60 or above.  I'll tend to favor players that I saw play, but mainly ones in the 90's and early 2000's.  That's when the Mariners were at their best, anyway.  Here we go...

I'm editing this in 2022, and there were a few changes I'll highlight in BLUE.

0. Sam Haggerty, UT: It's either Swaggerty or Mallex Smith, and Mallex Smith should never be considered the best at anything in Mariners history.  At least Sam has provided some versatility and filled in will at multiple spots.  

1. Kyle Lewis, OF/DH (prev. Charles Gipson): I think it's safe to say Lewis eclipsed Gipson after just the shortened 2020 season when Kyle won Rookie of the Year.  Unfortunately, Kyle has battled injuries, but he shows he simply just hits when he is healthy.

2. Kenji Johjima, C: Kenji wasn't with us for terribly long but it was either him, Randy Winn, or a couple years of Jean Segura.  Tom Murphy has come close, but his season-ending shoulder injury in 2022 hurts his chances, as well as the emergence of Cal Raleigh for the future.

3. Alex Rodriguez, SS: First easy call.  I know, A-Rod's a total douche,  but he put up some amazing numbers as a Mariner.  Next closest was probably Zunino.  JP Crawford would actually be next now, but I'd still keep A-Rod ahead of him for the time being.  JP has either got to lead us to multiple playoff berths or come close to A-Rod in terms of numbers.

4. Harold Reynolds, 2B: Another easy choice.  Not too much competition at #4, mainly Jose Lopez and Mark McLemore.  But Harold beats both those guys.  Fun fact: I worked with someone who wore #4 for the Mariners: Giomar Guevara.

5. John Olerud, 1B: Yet another easy call.  He's probably the 2nd best first baseman in team history (kinda sad to think about, since Johnny O had more success in Toronto and New York).  Both Beltre and Ibanez wore #5, but only for one season.

6. Dan Wilson, C: Another catcher (probably the last one?).  Dan is considered the best catcher in team history, so he has to be on here.  Next closest was Julio Cruz.

7. Marco Gonzalez, SP (Previously Spike Owen): I had to go with Marco this time around, as he has been an anchor throughout a pitching staff undergoing a transition and a leader on a team undergoing a rebuild.  

8. Rich Amaral, UT: Need a utility guy on here, and Rich was a part of those exciting 90s teams that made noise. 

9. Ruppert Jones, OF: Ruppert wins this over Luis Sojo because he had much better WAR.  I've heard good things about Ruppert, who I think was the Mariners first All-Star.

10. Dave Valle, C: Well, I was wrong, Wilson was not the last catcher.  Dave Valle had a decent career with the M's, but maybe more known for being an analyst for FSN and Root Sports.  Perhaps someday Jarred Kelenic can claim this spot, but not quite yet.

11. Edgar Martinez, DH: Like with Largent, Big Walt, and Tez on the Hawks, if you have your number retired there is never any question or doubt.  Edgar takes this by a mile. 

12. Mark Langston, SP: The first pitcher!  Langston was one of the M's best pitchers in the 80's.  However, he is most known for being in the trade that netted us the Big Unit, Randy Johnson.  Evan White did win a Gold Glove at first base in 2020, but has battled injury and has lost his 1B spot to Ty France.

13. Omar Vizquel, SS: I don't like to pick players who had more success on other teams, but there was no competition for :Little O".  The next closest were Bobby Ayala (Ha!), Dustin Ackley, and Jeff Fassero.  Yikes.

14. Tom Paciorek, OF: Here we have the weird baseball thing in where managers wear numbers (unlike football and basketball) and this number hasn't been worn since Sweet Lou donned it.  I don't know if the team will retire it in his honor, but no one has worn it since.  Tom Paciorek had a few good years for us in the late 70s and early 80s, including an All-Star selection in 1981.

15. Kyle Seager, 3B: Not much doubt here.  An interesting stat: Kyle is 7th all time in Mariners history in WAR (Wins Above Replacement).  Yet, he has NEVER led the Mariners any year in WAR.  Everyone ahead of him in Mariners history for WAR has for at least one season, but not Kyle.  In Kyle's best years he was beat out both times by Robinson Cano.

16. Mike Blowers, 3B: And this is not just because he does color commentating for the Mariners.  I believe he has the highest WAR out of anyone to wear the #16.  Next closest was Willie Bloomquist.

17. Mitch Haniger, OF: He's already got the most WAR of any player with this number in team history.  Hopefully he can stay with us for a while longer to make this a no-contest.  Next closest were Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Glenn Abbott, and Jim Presley.

18. Hisashi Iwakuma, SP: Kuma has one of the team's no-hitters, but not just that he pitched very good baseball for us for 6 seasons.  And, his entire MLB career was with us.

19. Jay Buhner, RF: Like Lou Piniella, this number has not been given out since Jay retired, yet the number has not been retired in his honor.  One thing I remember is seeing a #19 Buhner jersey everywhere I went in the 90s and early 2000s. 

20.  J.J. Putz, RP: JJ is actually 3rd in team history in saves, if you can believe it.  He unfortunately had to play on some bad Mariner teams in the mid-2000s, but in 2007 he not only made the All-Star team but got a few MVP votes!  Daniel Vogelbach went on a bit of a run, even earning an All-Star bid, but to me he falls short of JJ.

21. Alvin Davis, 1B: I unfortunately didn't get to see Davis play, but if someone has the nickname "Mr. Mariner" he has to be on here.

22. Kazuhiro Sasaki, RP: It was between Kaz and Robinson Cano.  Cano has the better WAR, but that's not hard to do when comparing relief pitchers to starting position players.  I chose Kaz for two reasons: One, he was on better teams and helped us to the playoffs twice, and two, he never got suspended for PED's. 

23. Nelson Cruz, DH/OF: It wasn't the easiest decision, with Tino Martinez and Bruce Bochte close runners up.  But Nelson has got to be the 2nd best DH in team history, and would be the best if not for Edgar.  I will consider Ty France here if he is able to keep up his production for a few years.

24. Ken Griffey, Jr., CF: Like with 'Gar, there's no question when your number is retired.  Junior still has the highest WAR in team history.

25. Mike Moore, SP: Didn't see him pitch, but he got some Cy Young votes in 1985 when he went 17-10 with an ERA of 3.46. 

26. Brendan Ryan, SS: Yeah, I know.  I believe he leads the team in WAR for #26, though.  Just haven't been many good ones at this number.  Fun fact: In 2011, Brendan hit .248 with 3 HR's and 39 RBI.  He LEAD THE TEAM IN WAR THAT YEAR.  Most of it was from his stellar defense, but wow.

27. Matt Tuiasosopo, UT: I just... there's no one else.  Nobody else has worn the number for more than TWO SEASONS.  Jesse Winker has this number currently, so it won't take much for him to claim this spot.  Two semi-productive seasons should do it, honestly.  

28. Raul Ibanez, OF: Pretty easy choice.  Raul is easily forgotten as he never played on a playoff team for the M's, but he put up some really good numbers.  Good for 23rd in team history.

29. Adrian Beltre, 3B: This was a pretty tough choice.  There were a lot of runners up: Bret Boone, Chris Bosio (author of a no-hitter), and Phil Bradley.  Beltre won out by having the highest WAR, and Boone was linked to PED's so I decided not to seriously consider him.

30. Aaron Sele, SP: He only pitched for us for three seasons, but the ones in 2000 and 2001 helped us to the playoffs.  Next closest was Ed Nunez.

31. Jerry Reed, RP: There's not much else.  I had never really heard of him.  But who was I going to choose, Erasmo Ramirez?  Ryan Feierabend?  Yoervis Medina?  Steve Cishek?  Those are the next closest.

32. Ed Vande Berg, RP: Another relief pitcher.  No one else close again.  Marco Gonzalez HAD this number... so now we won't have anyone claim this title for a while.

33. Bob Wolcott, SP: Bob helped us to a couple playoffs in '95 and '97.  He was also a fairly decent pitcher.  There's also not much competition for this number.

34. Felix Hernandez, SP: No question.  Felix holds a lot of the pitching records for the Mariners, and has thrown the only perfect game in team history.  Next closest was the man who inspired him to wear #34, Freddy Garcia.

35. Dave Fleming, SP: He was only good for a season or two in the early 90s, but again not much competition.  We're gonna see that more and more the higher we get.

36. Logan Gilbert, SP: Yes, after only a little over a year of big league work, I'm putting Logan here.  I'm betting on him being a rotation mainstay for years to come.  He should've been an All-Star in 2022. 

37. Norm Charlton, RP: "The Sherriff" easily takes this spot.  He is still one of the best and most well-liked pitchers in team history.  Next closest would've been... Clint Nageotte?  Brandon Maurer?  Paul Sewald has emerged and I'd be ok giving him this title if he can anchor the bullpen for a few more years.

38. Joel Pineiro, SP: Joel was quite a decent pitcher for us in the early 2000s.  I really liked him.  I like the way his name was pronounced.  JOE-EL PIN-YARE-O. 

39. Erik Hanson, SP: Erik was quite a decent pitcher for us in the late 80s and early 90s, but before my time.  His 1990 season was one of the best of that time: 18-9, 3.24 ERA with 211 strikeouts.  And that was on a team that lost 85 games.  Next closest was Edwin Diaz.

40. Matt Young, SP: The twelfth (!) starting pitcher on this list so far, Matt Young had a few decent years with us in the 80s.  He even made the All-Star team as a rookie in 1983. Beats out Mike Schooler and Julio Mateo.

41. Charlie Furbush, RP: Charlie was a decent lefty specialist for us for a while.  It's a shame injuries sidelined his career.  Fun fact: He's engaged to Q13 Fox reporter Michelle Ludtka. 

42. Dave Henderson, OF: This number was last worn by Butch Huskey (remember him?  Also, what a name) in 1999.  But Hendu (RIP) wore it the longest and played the best in it.  Fun fact: The Mariners, like the Seahawks, also had a player named Michael Jackson and he wore this number.

43. Jeff Nelson, RP: "Nellie" takes this fairly easily, having three separate stints with the Mariners.  Better to give it to him than Brandon League (bleh!) or Miguel Batista.  Two fun facts.  One, Jeff Nelson is still the only Mariner I've ever gotten the autograph of (and 2nd that I've met).  And two, Jay Buhner wore this number for one season in 1988.

44. Mike Cameron, OF: "Cammie" takes this fairly easily.  It wasn't easy taking over in center field after Junior was traded, but boy did he do it well.  Still the only Mariner to hit four home runs in a game.  Current M's analyst for Root Sports Bill Krueger wore this number. Julio Rodriguez has absolutely burst onto the scene, and it might not be too long before he passes Cammie here.

45. Jim Beattie, SP: Still not done with starting pitching.  Jim Beattie takes this over Ryan Franklin.  Jim was a starter for us in the 80s, and while his record isn't impressive (43-72), he did it on some pretty bad teams. 

46. Mike Stanton, RP: No, not the Mike Stanton that pitched for the Yankees nor the Stanton that goes by Giancarlo now.  Mike was a decent reliever for us in the 80s.  He takes it over Bob Wells, who I used to get mixed up with Bobby Ayala. 

47. Ron Villone, RP/SP: Ron takes this honor, although there wasn't much competition.  Villone was a first round draft pick of us in 1992, but didn't make his mark (or wear this number) until the mid 2000s.  He also played for twelve (!) teams in his big league career.  Next closest was utility man, the lanky John Mabry.

48. Paul Abbott, SP: Paul pitched for us around the turn of the millennium, and while he was never an outstanding starter, he always rounded out our rotation pretty well.  He was probably one of the game's best #4 or 5 starters at the time.  Next closest was Bryan Clark.

49. Wade LeBlanc, SP: It says quite a bit that I chose a player who only played two seasons with us.  Next closest was Roy Thomas.  Kendall Graveman pitched well out of the pen, just not long enough.  

50. Jamie Moyer, SP: Was there any question?  Jamie's definitely in our Top 5 starters of all time.  He was the last to win 20 games for us and may be the last ever. 

51. Ichiro Suzuki, OF: Ok, if I wanted to I could split this award and give it to both Ichiro and Randy Johnson.  But the fact that Randy was upset and basically requested a trade, plus he went into the Hall of Fame as a Diamondback and not a Mariner, makes me give this to Ichiro outright.  Ichiro beats him in WAR as well (56.3-39.0).  The team should retire the number in Ichiro's honor and not Randy's, but will probably retire it in both.

52. George Sherrill, RP: The "Hefty Lefty" I call him, because George put on some weight as his career went on.  But he was a very good lefty specialist for us. 

53. Arthur Rhodes, RP: Another lefty specialist.  Arthur "Thunder" Rhodes didn't always wear this number but he primarily did.  And he was a good reliever for us on some good teams.

54. Tom Wilhelmsen, RP: "The Bartender", as he was an actual bartender not long before the M's signed him and he became one of the better relievers in team history.  Next closest was John Halama.

55. Gil Meche, SP: For some reason I've always remembered his full name: Gilbert Allen Meche.  Came up as a 20 year old in 1999 and missed a couple years in 2001 and 2002 before coming back and pitching well.  Too bad he left for KC because we didn't want to pay him that much money.  Next closest was "The Condor", Michael Saunders.

56. Jarrod Washburn, SP: I started calling him Jarrod "Washed up"Burn whenever he had a bad outing.  Not much competition for this number.  Greg Halman wore this number though... RIP.

57. Mark Lowe, RP: Mark Lowe did pitch for us in two separate stints, and in between those stints he unfortunately became famous for giving up the walk off home run to David Freese in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. 

58. Doug Fister, SP: Ok we're getting into the territory where not too many players wore the number of.  In fact, nobody wore number 58 until after the turn of the millennium.  Doug was a good pitcher for us for a few seasons.

59. Eric O'Flaherty, RP: Again, not too many players.  O'Flaherty is one of only 3 to wear this number for more than one season and the only one to wear it for 3 seasons.

65. James Paxton, SP: Too bad we had to trade "Big Pax" or "Big Maple".  But he could never get over the injury bug.  But when healthy and consistent his pitching ability would be Top 5 for lefties in team history.

Of course I had to include Big Pax, but other than him there weren't any real decent players to wear a jersey number that high.  All in all, a very solid list, with two numbers retired and another one imminent (51, Ichiro/Randy) and yet another very possible (34, Felix).

Why the Seahawks are poised for a Magical 2019 Season

It's still only June, but for me, it's never too early to talk about the upcoming NFL season.  I'm particularly excited for this season.  Russ is locked up for 5 years, and the team is looking to build on their 2018 season in which they made the playoffs but lost their only playoff game.  I think they will build off that playoff game, and then some.  I have five reasons why I believe that to be the case:

1) Easy-ish schedule
Looking at the Seahawks schedule, it doesn't appear to be that bad.  They play the AFC North, and that division doesn't appear to be too good for 2019.  The Steelers lost their world class playmakers in Brown and Bell.  The Ravens lost the heart of their defense and I think Lamar Jackson has a bit of a sophomore slump.  The Browns are clearly overhyped and overrated.  The Bengals... well they're the Bengals.  They also play the NFC South, which shouldn't be its usual great self, either.  The Saints are due for a letdown season after two heartbreaking playoff losses.  Colin Cowherd is calling it and so am I.  The Falcons and Panthers will be fairly competitive, but the Hawks usually don't have much of a problem with them.  The Bucs... well we'll see about them.  The Hawks also play Philly and Minnesota, two teams with high aspirations but I could easily see us splitting those two games.  Then finally, I can see us going 4-2 or even 5-1 in division.  Which leads me to...

2) The NFC West won't be that good
The NFC West COULD be a really good division.  But it hasn't really been since the 49ers were good.  The Rams, like the Saints, are due for a letdown season.  Most teams coming off a lackluster Super Bowl performance have an ordinary at best season, which in that case is a disappointment.  The 49ers are due for a breakout season, but we said that last year, too.  I just don't fully buy into the hype surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo.  And the Cardinals will take a year to get there, at least.  I have full confidence in saying the Seahawks will AT LEAST compete for the division crown and be in it until the end.

3) Media is counting them out... AGAIN
Last year many were expecting a down season for the Hawks after a large amount of roster turnover.  Many predicted 4-12 or 5-11 records.  Instead, they won 10 games and got a wild card spot.  I think they exceed expectations again.  Many are predicting a win total of around 9 games, but I think that's a tad low.  I remember back in 2013 before our Super Bowl season, most media "experts" were picking the 49ers to win the NFC West and potentially get back to the Super Bowl.  They predicted 9 wins or so, just like for this year.  Colin Cowherd said the Hawks will probably compete with the Cardinals for third place.  These guys thrive off low expectations, and that's exactly what they got.

4) Offense got better
Our defense should be just as good (didn't get worse... we didn't have Earl for most of 2018 anyway) as last year, but our offense made significant strides.  Russ being signed to a long term extension motivates him even more.  Penny is poised for a breakout season and should form a tantalizing duo with Carson in the backfield.  Dissly returns from injury and if healthy, should provide a decent TE duo with Vannett.  We lost Baldwin, but he wasn't his usual self last year anyway.  We have a tremendous amount of WR depth after drafting three of them.  Either Metcalf, Jennings, or Ursua will break out, and we still have Darboh, Moore, and Brown.  Lastly, the line actually improved by replacing Sweezy with Mike Iupati, who is just a beast.  Germain Ifedi has another year under his belt and the penalties are slowly going away.  I expect our offense to keep us in every game.

5) It's a pivotal and critical season for Schneider and Carroll
Obviously, JS and PC want to win as much as possible.  But whenever a season is truly pivotal, it provides that much extra motivation.  This year is critical.  These next few years will probably be the last of Carroll's as a coach, as the Hawks gear up for another Super Bowl run with Russ.  If the Hawks do worse this year, it could mean a bit more of roster turnover and taking longer to get back to true contention, something Pete may not have time for.  However, if they get better as I predict (and expect), a Super Bowl birth and title could very well be in the near future.

The Hawks have lost many pieces in the last two years or so: The entire Legion of Boom, Baldwin, Graham, Bennett, Avril.  But they've got a ton of young players eager to prove themselves.  Kinda sounds like 2012/13, doesn't it?  I wouldn't say put all your eggs in the basket for this upcoming season for the Seahawks, but don't be surprised when they get close to the Super Bowl and make a deep run in the playoffs.